Predictika · Business lending quotes

An AI sales agent's business loan quote, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares a loan quote for a UK business customer: which standard business loan, how much and for how long, how the rate is set, and the guarantee and security fees that come with it. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the published HSBC UK Business Price List and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.

Scope: HSBC UK standard business loans (Small Business Loan, Flexible Business Loan, Commercial Mortgage, Commercial Business Loan): published limits, rate basis, arrangement fee, guarantee and security fees and the stated fees total. See everything this validator covers

This validator models quotes for the four standard business loans summarised in the HSBC Business Price List of 11 February 2025, not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Loan limits — minimum and maximum loan and term for each loan: Small Business Loan 1,000 to 25,000 pounds over 1 to 10 years; Flexible Business Loan from 25,001 pounds over 1 to 20 years; Commercial Mortgage from 25,001 pounds over 2 to 30 years; Commercial Business Loan 25,001 to 300,000 pounds over 1 to 10 years.
  • Rate basis — fixed rates on every loan; Bank of England Base Rate linked loans only on the Flexible Business Loan and Commercial Mortgage; risk free rate or currency linked loans only on those two, for businesses with turnover of 25 million pounds or more and loans of at least 1 million pounds.
  • Published fees — the 1.50% arrangement fee on the Commercial Business Loan, 10 pounds for each person giving a guarantee, and the security fees for a life policy (85 or 135 pounds), a first legal mortgage over property (145 pounds with a solicitor, 210 pounds with the bank), the 15 pound office copy fee and the 50 pound company registration fee for limited companies. The stated fees total must match.
  • Needs approval — on the Flexible Business Loan and Commercial Mortgage the interest rate, arrangement fee and maximum loan are set individually in the loan agreement and are not published, so a person confirms them.

Any standard business loan quote that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: overdrafts, prices agreed separately, the Corporate Banking Tariff, interest rates, early repayment and prepayment charges, non-drawdown and commitment fees, solicitor, valuation and Land Registry costs, and accounts, payments and international services.

The AI sales agentBuilds the business loan quote from the conversation and says it is ready.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed figures.

6 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI sales agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where rules-based CPQ gets it wrong
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Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtTypical rules-based CPQPredictika
Limits that differ for each loanOnly with care
Each loan has its own amount and term range, so a rule per loan is needed and has to be kept in step with the price list.		The limits are looked up from the chosen loan and compared with the quote on every call.
Rate options that depend on the loan, turnover and amountOnly with workarounds
Base Rate and risk free rate options are available on some loans only, and the risk free rate also depends on the customer's turnover and the loan size, so the rules interact and are easy to miss one.		Each condition is its own finding, and a quote that fails several at once shows all of them together.
A fee that is a percentage on one loan and nothing on anotherOnly with care
The arrangement fee applies to one loan and is not published for two others, so a price rule per loan is needed and the missing fee must not be silently shown as zero.		The published fee is computed where it exists and the loans with an individually agreed fee are sent to a person.
Fees that only make sense with certain securityOnly with workarounds
The office copy and company registration fees belong to security over property, so a rep can add them to a quote that has no property security.		An office copy fee without property security is a blocking finding.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved or a step is completed, so a rep often fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
1A loan of £999.00 is below the minimum of £1,000.00 for this loan type.
2A loan of £25,001.00 is above the maximum of £25,000.00 for this loan type.
3A term of 0 years is outside the 1 to 10 year range for this loan type.
4A term of 11 years is outside the 1 to 10 year range for this loan type.
5For this loan type the interest rate, arrangement fee and maximum loan are agreed individually and set out in the loan agreement; they are not published, so a person should confirm them.
6A loan of £25,000.00 is below the minimum of £25,001.00 for this loan type.
7A term of 21 years is outside the 1 to 20 year range for this loan type.
8A term of 1 year is outside the 2 to 30 year range for this loan type.
9A term of 31 years is outside the 2 to 30 year range for this loan type.
10A loan of £300,001.00 is above the maximum of £300,000.00 for this loan type.
11Bank of England Base Rate linked loans are available only on the Flexible Business Loan and the Commercial Mortgage.
12Risk free rate or currency linked loans need a business turnover of at least 25 million pounds; the business has 24 million.
13Risk free rate or currency linked loans have a minimum loan of £1,000,000.00; the quote is for £999,999.00.
14Risk free rate or currency linked loans are available only on the Flexible Business Loan and the Commercial Mortgage.
15Risk free rate or currency linked loans have a minimum loan of £1,000,000.00; the quote is for £20,000.00.
16Risk free rate or currency linked loans have a minimum loan of £1,000,000.00; the quote is for £150,000.00.
17The office copy fee is a charge for security over a property; the quote has no security over property.
18The quote states published fees of £2,300.00; the price list gives £2,455.00.
19The quote states published fees of £3,000.00; the price list gives £2,520.00.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Commercial Business Loan limits and security fees: Commercial Business Loan over the amount and term limits, with an office copy fee and no property security

    
The agent's request. Please quote a Commercial Business Loan of £320,000 over 12 years at a fixed rate for a limited company, with 2 personal guarantees, including the office copy fee. The quote states published fees of £4,835.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Loan amount above the maximum for this loan. A loan of £320,000.00 is above the maximum of £300,000.00 for this loan type.
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  • Term outside the range for this loan. A term of 12 years is outside the 1 to 10 year range for this loan type.
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  • Office copy fee without security over property. The office copy fee is a charge for security over a property; the quote has no security over property.
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  • Stated fees do not match. The quote states published fees of £4,835.00; the price list gives £4,820.00.
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2. Commercial Business Loan limits and security fees: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote a Commercial Business Loan of £300,000 over 10 years at a fixed rate for a limited company, with 2 personal guarantees and a first legal mortgage over property, perfected by a solicitor, including the office copy fee. The quote states published fees of £4,730.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Quote summary. Arrangement fee £4,500.00 plus security fees £230.00, total published fees £4,730.00 (excluding solicitor and valuation costs and VAT).
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3. Small Business Loan and the Base Rate link: Small Business Loan above its amount and term limits with a Base Rate link

    
The agent's request. Please quote a Small Business Loan of £40,000 over 12 years at a rate linked to the Bank of England Base Rate for a limited company, with 1 personal guarantee. The quote states published fees of £10.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Loan amount above the maximum for this loan. A loan of £40,000.00 is above the maximum of £25,000.00 for this loan type.
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  • Term outside the range for this loan. A term of 12 years is outside the 1 to 10 year range for this loan type.
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  • Base Rate linked only on Flexible loans and Commercial Mortgages. Bank of England Base Rate linked loans are available only on the Flexible Business Loan and the Commercial Mortgage.
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4. Small Business Loan and the Base Rate link: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote a Flexible Business Loan of £40,000 over 12 years at a rate linked to the Bank of England Base Rate for a limited company, with 1 personal guarantee. The quote states published fees of £10.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Rate and arrangement fee agreed individually. For this loan type the interest rate, arrangement fee and maximum loan are agreed individually and set out in the loan agreement; they are not published, so a person should confirm them.
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  • Quote summary. Security fees £10.00; the arrangement fee for this loan type is set out in the loan agreement and is not included (excluding solicitor and valuation costs and VAT).
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5. Commercial Mortgage and the risk free rate: Commercial Mortgage on a risk free rate for a smaller business and loan

    
The agent's request. Please quote a Commercial Mortgage of £800,000 over 30 years at a risk free rate linked rate for a limited company, with 2 personal guarantees and a first legal mortgage over property, perfected by the bank. The business has an annual turnover of £18 million. The quote states published fees of £280.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Risk free rate linked needs turnover of 25 million. Risk free rate or currency linked loans need a business turnover of at least 25 million pounds; the business has 18 million.
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  • Risk free rate linked needs a loan of 1 million. Risk free rate or currency linked loans have a minimum loan of £1,000,000.00; the quote is for £800,000.00.
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  • Rate and arrangement fee agreed individually. For this loan type the interest rate, arrangement fee and maximum loan are agreed individually and set out in the loan agreement; they are not published, so a person should confirm them.
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6. Commercial Mortgage and the risk free rate: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote a Commercial Mortgage of £800,000 over 30 years at a fixed rate for a limited company, with 2 personal guarantees and a first legal mortgage over property, perfected by the bank. The quote states published fees of £280.00. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Rate and arrangement fee agreed individually. For this loan type the interest rate, arrangement fee and maximum loan are agreed individually and set out in the loan agreement; they are not published, so a person should confirm them.
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  • Quote summary. Security fees £280.00; the arrangement fee for this loan type is set out in the loan agreement and is not included (excluding solicitor and valuation costs and VAT).
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares a loan quote for a UK business customer: which standard business loan, how much and for how long, how the rate is set, and more. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the published HSBC UK Business Price List and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.
    2. 
      
  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
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  3. The agent says. Please quote a Commercial Business Loan of £320,000 over 12 years at a fixed rate for a limited company, with 2 personal guarantees, including the office copy fee. The quote states published fees of £4,835.00. The rest of the request is on screen.
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  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
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  5. Blocked, with four findings, all in one answer. A loan of £320,000.00 is above the maximum of £300,000.00 for this loan type. A term of 12 years is outside the 1 to 10 year range for this loan type. The office copy fee is a charge for security over a property; the quote has no security over property. The other one is on screen.
    6. 
      
  6. The validator returned four blocking findings in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other.
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  7. What this shows: for rate options that depend on the loan, turnover and amount, a rules-based CPQ can do this only with workarounds.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the loan amount to £300,000, the term to 10 years, the security to first legal mortgage over property, perfected by a solicitor and the stated published fees to £4,730.00.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. This time the validator clears it.
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  12. The validator also returns the line-item quote. It starts with Arrangement fee and Arranging a guarantee; the other three lines are on screen.
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  13. All four earlier findings are cleared, and the validator's total, £4,730.00, matches the quote.
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  14. Four problems caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer.
    15.